.

Peter Rost, M.D., is a former Pfizer Marketing Vice President providing services as a medical device and drug expert witness and pharmaceutical marketing expert. Judge Sanders: "The court agrees with defendants' view that Dr. Rost is a very adept and seasoned expert witness." He is also the author of Emergency Surgery, The Whistleblower and Killer Drug. You can reach him on rostpeter (insert symbol) hotmail.com. Please read the terms of use agreement and privacy policy for this blog carefully.

Terrorists, Lipstick and Lieberman

The New York Times writes today that Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut seized on the reports of a terror plot yesterday to attack Ned Lamont, his Democratic opponent for re-election, saying that Mr. Lamont’s goal of withdrawing American troops from Iraq by a fixed date would constitute a “victory” for extremists.

“If we just pick up like Ned Lamont wants us to do, get out by a date certain, it will be taken as a tremendous victory by the same people who wanted to blow up these planes in this plot hatched in England,” Mr. Lieberman said at a campaign event in Waterbury, Conn. “It will strengthen them, and they will strike again.”As for me, I start disliking Lieberman more and more. As if it isn't enough to have the Republicans go crazy with joy that there was another foiled terrorist attack they can use for political gain, now we have people like Lieberman abusing the situation the same way.

And don't get me going on air travel. It used to be a pain and something to be dreaded, however, looking at the pictures in the newspapers today with images of confiscated lipsticks, security officials have now gone officially insane.

And of course, they have known for the last ten years, according to NY Times, that liquid explosives could be used. But didn't do anything. And now they're confiscating lipsticks.

I don't know if I should cry or just shut up.

Reality is that the whole airline safety thing is a big joke. I've traveled all over the world, when I still did that on business, and security precautions varied widely based on which airport, which country, whatever. The security net was completely filled with holes and clearly put in place more to placate the general public than to actually be effective.

U.S. security was a pain, and European ones, outside of the UK, often behaved like nothing had changed. Point is, if the net has holes, it is wholly ineffective.

And now we have to board flights with bare essentials in a see through plastic bag.

I wonder how long it will take until we all have to stand in line naked, the way things are going, not too long.

Give me a break.

No wonder private jets is a business growing like crazy, the rich people don't want to put up with this idiocy anymore.

I'm all for security, but lets be reasonable and have the same guidelines around the world. Not just make believe security, the way we do it now.

You want to know what is really going on? A real analysis of the situation?

30 Comments:

Of course security has always been a cruel fraud to soothe the public clamoring to "do something." The billions allocated for "homeland security" was never intended to provide security. but rather a profit center for the criminals in chare of our government. Just another source for pork. The Republican Stooge Chernoff cut New York and Wash.D.C. 40% but thank God the cow dungs of North Dakota are safe.

If you think airline travel is hassle, I've got some more news for you.

On a recent road trip (by automobile) destination San Diego, taking the most southern interstate route, we encountered and had to endur not one, but "two" roadblocked checkpoints. Both in California.

The first one is the old traditional one encountered shortly after crossing the state line, where they used to ask questions like "are you carrying any plant life and/or fresh produce". The second happens approximately 100 miles later in mountainous unpopulated terrain. You are now soberly greated by lots o' border patrol agents, heavily armed, with dogs, readied with stop sticks. First, you are visually profiled. If you fit the profile, you go on to various other phases. Which may include producing identification, documentation, detainment, search, seizure, and potential arrest.

"Reality is that the whole airline safety thing is a big joke. I've traveled all over the world, when I still did that on business, and security precautions varied widely based on which airport, which country, whatever. The security net was completely filled with holes and clearly put in place more to placate the general public than to actually be effective."

That pretty much sums up the entire matter. I have never seen such a joke in my life. I took my niece to the airport to return home and you would have thought this country was under actual armed attack just a few miles away and that our soldiers were fighting on the beaches and in the hills in hand to hand combat.

Just pathetic, but then again, anything to help to keep the populace frightened and easily led to believe the destruction of their constitutional rights is not only necessary but keeping those rights is playing right into the terrorists hands.

Hmmmm. What makes me so bitter and condescending. Another great question, Anonymous, right up there with am I a spy or a PR mole.

First off, the only thing that has made me bitter in the past decade is the Republican Party and it’s fearless leader. That’s it.

As far as condescension goes, well a lot of things bring that out.

Mainly it’s people who ask condescending questions.

Oh, and when people make condescending remarks. That certainly brings it out.

And then there are the people who hide behind an anonymous screen name while both making condescending remarks AND asking condescending questions. That can really bring it out.

Oh yeah, and people who have no sense of humor and then accuse me of not being funny. Like it’s my fault they lack the intelligence to understand the most basic wit.

I think that’s about it, Anon. Let me know if you have any more questions, even though I won’t really know if it’s you or one of the other myriads of posters who can’t add anything greater than an anonymous drive-by...

perhaps you should re-read your own posts so that you would finally understand my question? I refer you, for instance, to the "our girl" And that certainly wasn't the worst of what you wrote.

Re ... my no-name. I prefer it to registering. If I ever should decide to have more than a passing conversation with you, I will give you a temporary name. There's no chance I'd let you waste your icky fangs and forced humor on the wrong anonymous.

Ohhh, I see what has your panties in a bunch now, and I can tell you wear panties because men don’t use the word "icky". You think I was being condescending to Beeta because I called her "our girl".

Well, if you were more than a mere passer by, you’d have known that this comment was a continuation of a conversation between, me, Beeta, and Shooter. I won’t bore you by reliving the whole conversation, but I assure you that the term "our girl" was completely appropriate for what we were discussing.

Wow. Out of everything I’ve said in these comments, and THAT’S the phrase you pick out as being condescending??? I find that hilarious. I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing at the fact that, although I’ve been very snarky, the phrase "our girl" is what you’re upset about.

I can honestly tell you, I used that phrase as a term of endearment. Beeta knew it. Shooter knew it. Anyone who is familiar with our on-going gabfest knew it. You, apparently, are the only one who didn’t.

You said:

"If I ever should decide to have more than a passing conversation with you, I will give you a temporary name."

I hope you do. We need more chicks...um...people of the female persuasion around here. You seem to have spunk. We like spunk. But until you do, might I suggest you don’t assume you know what people are talking about when you're not familiar with the conversation.

Pick a name, girl, and jump in with both feet! See? Endearing, not condescending!

And just for the record, I don’t have fangs, that’s Beeta. I had mine ground down years ago.

Hello everyone. Been a tough day, just got home. If I told you what's going on in Shooterworld, Hezbollah would fall of the stage, into the cymbal section probably, and you'd all say war and peace can wait, we have entered a new realm. Sometimes I wonder, is this really happening? Then I kind of levitate above it all and become a spectator watching myself perform in the most bizarre play that would make even Kafka drool. I sure as hell can't go into it with you nice people because first, if you're even 1% like me, you would rightfully say "whew!...like we care?" and second, there seems to be enough folks (all strangely Christened "Anonymous") who should at least wear numbers. I mean, how will the Gong Show panel know how to keep score?

Moo, you must stop. Do humanity a favor and leap into the vat of formaldahyde so that future generations can appreciate what humanity was capable of at it's zenith. Watching you spar with reptilian microbes (without yawning no less, classy!) brings out the Mother Theresa in you. Anon, the illiterate, is a lost cause. But you knew that. Register? What register? Is this a fertility clinic? Sign here, your zygote will be along any minute. Wonderboy, you click "other," type in "Genius," then we'll know who you are so that we don't cremate the wrong anonymous. On the other hand, these other wunderkinds, uniquely and cleverly, disguising themselves as bibliographies, are a mystery. It's unfortunate, and I really feel guilty, that after all that writing, they're even less interesting than before they started.

Now the last point Moo, my love, is Beeta, and your impatience with her progress. Did you think her metamorphis from dwelling in the septic whirlpool she's been confined to was going to be quick or easy? Take it from me, the success rate for complete escape to hope and light that we wish for her is practically "0." If I didn't like her so much and if she didn't show a flicker of cognizance, I assure you, shooter's got more pressing things to attend to. Like composing my "Ode to MooGirl, The Magnificent." But I'm embarrasing myself. Do you remember the movie, "The Princess Bride?" Where our "hero, Wesley" having been tortured by the evil prince Humperdinck is brought to the sorcerer, "Miracle Max, Billy Crystal," to try and save him? Max determines that Wesley is practically dead, almost dead, just about dead. But just about about dead means he's still a little bit alive. Well that ended with Wesley defeating the Evil Prince, Marrying Buttercup, and living happily ever after. Just as Buttercup came back from the depths of despair to a life of untold joy, that's the ending I want for our Princess Beeta. Oh sure, she'll say "nice try Shoo" but life isn't a fairytail, yadda, yadda, yadda. All the usual defense mechanisms will exert their evil forces. Anon, the demented one, will attack me for.............take your pick, you got a taste when a thought from his mind took the interminable journey to his fingers, but all that's to be expected. I still have hope and I think that now that the seeds have been planted, beeta will try real bravely to shrug it off, but it will chew away at her and she will someday soon "come home."

Shooooooooooter! Wow, so you’ve had some excitement on your side of the world (where ever that may be)? The intro to your last comment was totally cryptic. Were the cops involved? How ‘bout an ambulance? Did you make the news? Have you been digging up your backyard all night so as to dispose of the bodies? Anyway, hope all the dust has settled and all is well with you.

You haven’t missed much. Only the occasional Anon drive-by. Got bawled out for calling a Beeta a girl. With everything I’ve said lately, THAT was what someone wanted to rag me about. It was kinda like mowing down a crowd of pedestrians with my car, then getting bawled out by the cop for not using my turn signal. Hope she comes back though, she seemed fun.

And as for our dear Beeta, I’m totally lost as to whom she is today. I swear Sally Fields is going to play her in the movie. She did manage to fling a baby killer snark our way though, so the day wasn’t a total loss. Actually, we’ve now elevated ourselves to baby eaters, without even trying. I was going to enquire as to how many calories were actually IN a baby, but she didn’t seem like she was in the mood for my special brand of humor today. I also didn’t want to take up any more space on the first installment of Docs personal post with my drivel.

So that’s all you’ve missed. See? If you’d stayed around here to play today you might not have gotten in so much trouble!

PS. Loved The Princess Bride! Not quite Monty Python-Holy Grail funny, but hysterical just the same. By the way, I AM one of the Knights who say NEE!

Well thank you Roger/Moo/Ebert/Girl, for that not quite funny, but hysterical just the same, critique. So now, to illustrate a previous point you made regarding the rarified honesty of the Snark Community, we will demonstrate our willingness to smack each other around a little bit, in the interest of fair and full self regulation. Besides, masochism is a part ( now Beeta, jot down this word "albeit" a small part) of a well-rounded Snark. First point, ( Beeta, jot down this thought too ) The Holy Grail is the " universally accepted standard " for a movie comedy. From the opening scene, "two coconuts, Gallop, Gallop," one knows he/she is witnessing what many call " THE Flawless Comedy of All Time." To fully appreciate this funniest parody of all time, the irony is that one must be quite intelligent to understand the believable stupidity of the action on-screen. So on two points, "apples/oranges," and "non-existant comparison" MooGirl issued an erroneous decision to a phantom contest. God, I love this! It's like the quarter finals of the Chess Championship between Grand Masters. As soon as I'm done here I'm going to go to the gym for a couple of hours getting ready for the comeback. I can't wait!

As to yesterday, thank you for your concern and kind words. The situation is way too convoluted to go into detail here, but suffice to say there's good news and bad news. The good news is my divorce is winding down. The bad news is my in-laws won't let me go. They are both kinda old (80's) and confined to wheelchairs. They still live in their home, 5 mins. from me. I have pretty much been taking care of them (finances, medical, etc.) and it doesn't help that they're as stubborn as deer ticks. They refuse to accept their conditions, and they're always attempting to do things they shouldn't like go to the bathroom, reach for the t.v. clicker, etc. unassisted. So at all hours of the day and night my phone rings, "Shooter, Daddy (his wife calls him Daddy) tried to reach for the newspaper on the other chair and fell down, and is wedged between the couch and the wall." So I jumps into my 300M,( I can read a newspaper on the way cause my car knows the routine by heart), get to their house where he's laying like a turtle on his back. He looks up at me with those big disbelieving eyes and says " I don't know what happened......." so I cut him off and say " it's called falling down Jimbo." So after picking him up and getting him all fixed up, he's still muttering "I don' know what happened........" until his wife, Mary ends it with "put a sock in it Daddy!" Well, yesterday it was good ole Mare's turn. I got my daily S.O.S. call, only this time it was Mary calling in obvious distress.Now you must understand, this is a chick who wouldn't wince while undergoing an unanesthetized colonscopy/root canal combo. So for her to be crying was very emotional for me. Bottom line, rushed her to Emergency, got her stabilized, and she's scheduled for an MRI tomorrow. Anyway, after getting set-up with an I.V. that obviously had some really good dope flowing into her skinny little ass (knowing her over 40yrs, I can talk that way) she perks up. Wowee, got her little flowery nightgown, dabbing on some makeup and lipstick, this babe's ready to partyyyy! As I'm trying to leave she say's "Yo Shooter, where you going? I'm hungry." (lunch had already been servedand she wasn't about to wait for dinner.) You see, this gal has one hell of a grueling life trying to take care of her husband, her house, as well as herself. A stay at the hospital for her is like a week in Cancun. Damn, if she wasn't gonna make the most of it. As I'm going down the hall to the cafeteria, she's yelling "don't forget the cheese danish and the coffee......light, sweet, and...........HOT!." So aftershe wolfs down her lunch, dabbing the corners of her impishly, or rather devilish, smiling lips, she looks out into the hall and spies a cart with an uneaten lunch tray on it. Now mind you, this is a woman who was a city cop for thirty years and is so law and order she'd have her own children arrested for taking a kleenex without permission. She looks all around and whispers to me "come closer." As I bend over, she grabs me by the shirt collar and practically puts her lips thru my eardrum (like we're trading atomic secrets), "Go grab that tray Shooter, I'm still hungry." Then lip-syncs "don't let anyone see you." Well, brilliant me, having also gotten her a stack of newspapers and magazines when I got her lunch at the cafeteria, I saw my opening. I swiped the lunch tray, handed her a "Vogue" and as she started turning the pages, and chomped down on the cheeseburger, having sinisterly positioned myself by the door, I looked down at my watch and with an astonished look I yelled out, My God! gotta go, catcha later Mare." The look in her eyes, she knew she'd been had, pinned by the lunchtray, mouth full of burger, she was trapped. I swear I could hear her saying as a scooted down the hall , "yeah you're bad, Shooter," then cackling " tomorrow's another day."

Moo, my best buddy, I don't know what you do to me. I get started writing and I can't stop.........I hope you don't mind, but tomorrow's another day.

Ohhhh my God, Is this like the opposite of the epodode from "Sopranos" where the Rabbi looking guys hire the mob to convience the son-in-law to divorce the daughter, except they can not kill the son-in-law because its against Jewish law, and they end up threatning cutting off his ...ohhh WeeWee(for the sake of political correctness, that I am against...LOL) and at the end the mob ends up wacking the Rabbi looking guys because they now have an agreement that benefits all sides, except the mob?WOW.... so what happened next?

And to think I was feeling sorry for myself that my sister in law has banned my house to the entire family because she does not approve of me. My Mother in law God rest her soul, has passed away, and left her daughter to torture me. My sin is that my husband fell in love with me, against his family's wishes. I am that kind of woman(the kind that has no concept of fun according to MOO)and the kind my sister in law considers a loose woman who seduced her brother with her looks and tricks in bed. What else would explain her brother(goodlooking as hell and younger than me) falling for a divorced woman with a child(He is all grown now) who looks like a HoochiMamma, with tricks from who knows what kinda of other world forces.So, what is going to happen to your in-laws?

Well Beeta, I guess they'll just keep getting older, and I'll just keep on doing what I can. They trust me and feel safe with me so what else can I do? I went through it with my own parents a few years back and if I didn't approach it with a sense of humor I'd just grow into a cynical old fart.

Is that why you are a "Snark"?Shooter, the magnificant!...I can make all your troubles go away!I see you!...brave...and ...un-moveable! When all else fails...shooter is here!I know you!...I do....really...OK....I promise on all that is holy to me....that I am not being a snark....this is genuine.....

Yes Beeta, being wonderful is not all that it's cracked up to be. And the Halo!Damn thing keeps sliding down my neck, gives me a rash.And now if I may, a little peck on your forehead, my sweet Beeta, and sweet dreams.....g'nite

It’s 4:16 am…you guys are such lightweights! Wow Shooster-dude, you really are a saint if you’re taking care of your elderly in-laws. And might I add that you have a really crappy lawyer if you are the one who got custody them! But you are very generous for taking care of them. And I know all about the halo problem. Mine keeps getting hooked up on my tiara, but that’s another story.

And Beeta, whoo-hoo girl! I don’t know why sisters-in-law are such a pain in the arse. But they are. And I take back everything I said about you not being fun. I had no idea you swung from the chandeliers! You wild woman, I have a whole new respect for you!

As for me, my dad has been in the hospital in a neighboring state for about 3 weeks now. It’s doubtful he will ever return to his home. As for the test tube I fondly refer to as Mothra, she’s having hip replacement surgery at about 6 am this morning. Ah fun times.

So you see, we really are all in the same boat on this planet. Ok, maybe not the SAME boat. Some are on the Princess Cruise Lines while others are on a dingy, and many of us don’t seem to have both oars in the water, but you get my point.

Ok kidlets, I’m know I’ve not been up to my usual level of snark but it’s late. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow I promise!

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Peter Rost, M.D., is a former Pfizer Marketing Vice President providing services as a medical device and drug expert witness and pharmaceutical marketing expert. Judge Sanders: "The court agrees with defendants' view that Dr. Rost is a very adept and seasoned expert witness." He is also the author of Emergency Surgery, The Whistleblower and Killer Drug. You can reach him on rostpeter (insert symbol) hotmail.com. Please read the terms of use agreement and privacy policy for this blog carefully.